Slow Sunday Stitching ~ Green Metallico Radius Shawl

 Another cold winter day here today.

Always good weather to stay at home and do some slow stitching. 

My kitty crochet inspector is saying, "Time for my lunch break."

Cassian gets grumpy when he thinks it is mealtime.

This is a shawl for My Girl and she picked out the yarn and pattern.

The yarn is Metallico from Hobbii Yarn ~ Color 10

Hobbii often puts this yarn at about 40% -50% off, so if you are interested,

bookmark the page and watch for it to go on sale. 

This is shipped from Europe and it arrives very quickly.

The one time the overseas postal service ripped the bag, I wrote to them and they immediately sent replacement balls for the lost and damaged ones free of charge.

I am not affiliated with this business. I am just a happy customer.

It is difficult to get a good photo of the lovely sheen and true color in this yarn.

The stitch is Tunisian Crochet Simple Stitch.

The pattern is

 Radius Shawl Pattern by Light & Joy Design

I have made this pattern before Pink Shawl Here

The pattern is worked in short rows. 

I have been slowly stitching and the shawl is almost done.

Only one ball of yarn left! 

I plan to put a very simple edging stitch and leave the front open.

No frilly shells or button on this one. 

Just a large lovely sweep of a shawl that My Girl can wrap up in on cold winter days.

Linking up tonight with all the creative people at

Slow Sunday Stitching @ Kathy's Quilts

Since I am a slow stitcher everyday, I always feel at home here. 

Happy Stitching, Everyone!

Trusting the Process

 

The first Block B is done for my 

Scrappy Irish Chain Quilt

These are big 18.5" blocks unfinished. 

Your can see the lovely leafy details on my creamy white tone on tone background fabric in this photo. 

This free Scrappy Irish Chain pattern may be downloaded in the link below: 

Scrappy Irish Chain ~ Free Pattern by Jessie Fincham

I love the quilting design in Jessie's quilt.

NOTE:

If you are making this quilt, 

there are cutting errors in the original pattern.

Corey Yoder has posted important 

Corrections to the Cutting Instructions Here

Since the original free pattern is not hers, 

Corey cannot fix the errors in the pattern. 

Here are my first two blocks together.

As expected, the busy scrappyness of the Block A is calmed and tamed considerably by the juxtaposition of Block B with its restful white space.

The first block looked so chaotic that I was having

Second and Third Thoughts Here

Now I am thinking maybe not.

I decided to make this pattern after loving the very busy and scrappy sample quilt.

Maybe I should just trust the process.

I do love busy, scrappy quilts. 

I am also crocheting while I am thinking. 

The shawl that I am making for my daughter is nearing completion

and long enough to warm my lap as I stitch.

The kitties are enjoying having their kitty tree by the radiator in our living room. Nutmeg is in the gray hammock. Katniss is actually laying on a folded quilt on top of the radiator.  Cassian is not in the photo but he is on the furry blanket on bottom of the cat tree.  Maestro is curled up in a fuzzy cat bed on my bed, which her favorite place to sleep. All four cats have been sleeping on my bed most nights.  The kitties like to share body heat on cold winter nights.  Cassian has yet to be admitted to a kitty cuddle with the others, but he is now allowed to sleep on a quilted pillow at the head of the bed.  Trusting the process with the kitties means he may be allowed to curl up with the sister kitties someday. 

It is turning cold here and we are forecast to have

 -12 degrees F by Thursday night.

Brrrrrr! 

Back to Blogging for 2023!

 

Hello!

I am making plans to get back to blogging this year and hope you will visit me again.

I took an extended online break in the last few months of 2022 and also did little sewing, stitching and crocheting.

I am back to working on this Tunisian Crochet Shawl which is a gift for my daughter that I started Here Last October while I was visiting her in Indiana.

I will post the pattern and more photos soon!

For those of you who have been followers of my kitty helpers, you may notice something new in this photo.

We have a new Scrapatch Cat!

This handsome gray tabby was a stray who started coming to our door late last summer.  In November when the winter cold started to arrive, we decided to let him in and here he stays, after many visits to the vets. I will be telling his story soon, too. 

Katniss, Maestro and Nutmeg are all well and have accepted their new brother. It has been a quite a process. They are even starting to play with him.

My plans for 2023 are quite small at this time.

My goals are:

(1) Finish this green shawl for my daughter.

(2) Make a baby quilt for our new grandniece.

(3) Start another crochet project for a friend.  

(4) Join one new quilt-along this year, which I have already chosen.

More soon! 

Stitch Sew & Show ~ 2022 ~ Week 33

 Welcome to Stitch Sew & Show ~ 2022 ~ Week 

I am back after after another week plus of being away from my computer.  

Nothing life changing; just life happening. 

I have been working on my

 Purple Shawl Project ~ Last Posted Here

and have been making good progress.

I have started calling this my "Winging It Shawl" 

as I have been designing as I go. 

After adding the first shoulder in this photo,

I decided it looks like I am adding wings to the square 

that forms the back of the shawl.

The color changing yarn that I am using for this project is new to me.

I found this Wool Wonders Yarn on Amazon .

The lighter yarn is Mauve Pink.  The darker yarn is Purple Iris. 

I like the feel of this yarn.  The wool content gives it the soft fuzzy feel of wool but it is very nice to the touch.  This Wool Wonders is a soft, single ply blend of 30% Australian Wool and 70% acrylic. 

It is a variegated  #4 Medium Worsted Aran Yarn. 

I cannot say how this yarn washes and wears yet. Time will tell.

I do have a scrap yarn project in process which has some of this yarn.  

I will wash the scrap project as soon as it is finished.

I love the fall colors that are coming soon. 

Here I am casting on the other shoulder and I needed to figure out how to make the short rows and the neck decrease on the other side so it would match the other shoulder.

I could not find any online or book instructions showing me how to make short rows in the Tunisian Crochet Knit Stitch (TKS) on the left side of any project.

I even asked in a Tunisian Crochet group that I have joined on Facebook and got no answers. 

After trial and error, found that placing the hook in the TKS in the row below made an almost seamless transition. 

I am literally winging it as I go.

Here is my progress.

I have the shoulder two wings on the back of my shawl 

and I am ready to start the next part of my planned design.

I have not seen any shawl like this online. 

I am not a pattern writer but if there is interest in how I made this, I will try to make a tutorial. 

Would you be interested in making your own version of this shawl?

Crochet is still my favorite thing to do right now.

When I have given my hands a rest, 

I have been following the yarn trail wherever it leads me on the internet

and it lead me to a new series on how-to crochet.

If you are new to or want to learn more about crochet, 

you may be interested in this free beginner series happening now:

Crochet Academy 2022 @ TL Yarn Crafts

If you join, you will receive one email per day with the daily topic.

There are also free project tutorials.

There are even kits available at Lion Brand Yarns :

Crochet Academy Kits @ Lion Brand

I am not affiliated in any way with any of these businesses and am providing the links for those who may be interested.

I am thinking of making this Lynn Fringed Vest Project,

but I am focused on my current projects and have the yarn for my next two Tunisian Crochet projects, so I am not sure when I might make the crochet vest. 

I am enjoying the daily emails and am learning new things about regular crochet.

What are you stitching and sewing this week?

Please share? 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Stitch Sew & Show ~ 2022 ~ Week 32

 

Welcome to Stitch Sew & Show ~ 2022 ~ Week 32

This week I am continuing my purple crochet shawl project.

I finished the border on Purple Shawl ~ Back Block

early in the week and now am working on adding the two sides to the block

to make the shoulder sections. 

The stitch I have chosen for the sides is the 

Tunisian Knit Stitch (TKS).

This is a very easy stitch.

This looks much like a regular knitting stitch and is achieved by inserting the hook into the space between the front and back bar (also called the legs) of the stitch, front to back and pulling up a loop onto the hook. 

Tunisian Crochet Knit Stitch How-To Video @TLYC

Click on the link above for video instructions for this stitch. 

I need to make progress fats on this shawl. My friend's birthday is next week.

Hopefully I will have time to finish the shawl.

What are you working on this week?

Please Share! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Hello, August ~ Back to Blogging

 

Happy August! 

I have been sitting and stitching and enjoying summer.

Mr. Scrapatch has been working all week and catching up on all the projects that need doing around the Scrapatch on the weekends. Here he is yesterday using his portable electric cement mixer to replace cement landing for the back steps.  

The steps and stringers also need replacing,

 so there is a gaping hole off the back porch ...

... and a pile of wood and bags of cement on the deck under the gazebo.

I am very blessed that he can do the work and I can sit and stitch.

Today it is steamy and I am sitting inside working on the crochet shawl for another friend in my monthly lunch group.  When I asked her what color she said any shade of purple.  I was surprised to hear she is a purple person as she does not wear purple or have it in her home decor.  When I thought about it, though, I should not have been surprised as she is a healer by nature and was a nurse for 40 years in a local emergency room. 

Maestro is my crochet helper of the day.

Very helpful.

After I gently removed the WIP from her razor sharp teeth, 

I put it in one of the clear plastic tote bags that I use as project bags for my yarn.

So Maestro expressed herself by chewing on the strap.

I am really happy with this new to me Tunisian Crochet stitch.

More later. 

I plan to be back to blogging on a regular basis now.

Hope you and yours are having a good summer!

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 ... :) 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

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.